Date of Award

2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Pharmacy

First Advisor

Jane Gervasio

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of food and drug interactions is important and may greatly impact compliance and success of drug therapy. Patients are required to be educated about food and drug interactions at the point of care by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations’ standards; and, in both the institutional and community settings, quality of patient care is improved if the patient understands the importance of food and drug interactions. Methods: This study was conducted online via a web-based survey using Survey Monkey. Students in their second year of pre-pharmacy classes were asked to complete a pre-survey, review a website containing educational materials regarding food and drug interactions, and then take a post-survey to assess knowledge learned and critique the layout and design of the website. The website, which was built by the investigators of this study, contains educational material on food and drug interactions, how these interactions can affect a patient’s medication therapy, and a list of commonly prescribed medications that have a food interaction. Results: A total of 49 second-year pre-pharmacy students were identified and completed the study. All respondents indicated they learned something new about food and drug interactions after viewing the interactive website (n=49). A majority of respondents strongly agreed or agreed they could identify major foods or food groups that commonly interfere with medications after viewing the website (n=10 and n=38 respectively). Furthermore, a majority of respondents also indicated they strongly agreed with the statement that they could make recommendations to a patient on how to avoid a food and drug interaction after viewing the website(n=5 and n=20 respectively). Conclusion: Results suggest that the interactive website is a useful tool in educating second year pre-pharmacy students on food and drug interactions.

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